The next morning, Rachel was out the door at the crack of dawn.

I didn't even need to guess to know she was heading straight back to the hospital to play nurse for Damon.

Not long ago, she had complained to me that her current job was way too exhausting and that she wanted to switch to something less stressful, so she quit.

I hadn't thought twice about it. My salary was more than enough to cover our household expenses, so whether she worked or not didn't make a difference to me.

But ever since she resigned, she had been leaving early and coming home late.

Whenever I asked, she claimed she was job hunting because she didn't want me to carry the financial burden alone.

Looking back now, she wasn't trying to shoulder the burden with me. She was getting IVF treatments at a fertility clinic.

After tidying up the house, I drove over to meet Audrey Sinclair, the attorney I had reached out to earlier.

Unfortunately, once we entered the real world, we drifted apart. It wasn't until she moved back into town a couple of years ago that we finally reconnected.

Audrey was very professional. It didn't take her long to draw up the divorce agreement, and she told me we could make amendments later if I had any additional terms.

But the moment Audrey and I stepped out of the cafe, we ran into Rachel and Damon. They were carrying a mountain of shopping bags. From the looks of it, the bags were filled with baby clothes.

The second she spotted me, Rachel frowned. "Garrett, are you stalking me?"

Then, noticing Audrey standing right beside me, her brow furrowed even deeper. "Who is she?"

Before I could respond, Damon stepped forward and gently caught Rachel's arm.

His eyes darted between Audrey and me, his gaze shifting back and forth suspiciously. Finally, he feigned a look of disapproval.

"Rachel, what are you talking about? Garrett would never stalk us. He's clearly out to meet someone."

Damon was awfully good with words, instantly turning the tables and throwing me under the bus.

Sure enough, the next second, Rachel eyed me with suspicion.

"Garrett Whitaker, you're actually out here seeing other women behind my back?" she hissed. "You better explain to me right now who this bitch is!"

I let out a sharp laugh.

"Rachel, in what capacity are you even demanding answers from me? As my wife?" I asked, completely deadpan. "Because from where I'm standing, you and Damon look a lot more like a married couple. In fact, you're already carrying his kid."

The mall was packed, and the crowd of shoppers immediately stopped in their tracks, their eyes locking onto us.

Rachel's face flushed crimson, and she immediately lashed out at me.

"What are you talking about? Damon is my best friend."

How delusional. I had no desire to stand around bickering with the two of them because it would be pointless.

But the moment I turned on my heel to walk away, Damon's eyes welled with tears, and he grabbed my arm.

"Garrett, you've got it all wrong. Rachel and I are just friends. Look, if it bothers you that much, I can stop seeing her from now on."

He gazed deeply at Rachel as he spoke, as if this were some heartbreaking goodbye scene.

Repulsed, I forcefully ripped my arm from his grip, my voice dropping an octave. "Don't touch me."

The next instant, Damon swayed on his feet and collapsed onto the floor.

Within seconds, his face drained of all color, and he began wheezing, weakly begging Rachel not to blame me.

Rachel let out a piercing shriek, rushing to his side to help him up.

Then, she turned and roared at me at the top of her lungs, "He's sick! How could you put your hands on him? Garrett, I swear to God, if anything happens to Damon, I'll make you pay!"

I stood rooted to the spot, watching the woman I had loved for five long years turn against me for another man.

To say I felt completely numb would be a lie. But right now, a profound sense of relief washed over me.

I was relieved that I had decided to get a divorce, and grateful that it had only taken me five years to finally see reality for what it was.

A woman who was willing to endure 39 exhausting rounds of IVF just to have her first love's baby was someone who would truly never fall in love with me.

…

Not long after I got back home, I noticed Damon had suddenly posted on Instagram.

He had uploaded a photo of an ultrasound and tagged Rachel. His caption read, "Life is the continuation of love."

The comment section was already flooded with replies from Rachel's friends.

Vanessa Reed commented, "Damon, the way you look at her makes my heart melt. You've been in love with her for so many years. I'm literally so jealous! I'm crying tears of joy that my favorite high school sweethearts are finally back together!"

Victor Ramsey chimed in, "Does this mean Rachel is finally coming back to you? Wishing you two a happily ever after."

Soon, I saw Rachel's response to them.

"Damon is at his most vulnerable right now. I'm going to stay right by his side for whatever time he has left. This isn't about coming back to him. Even if the world ends tomorrow, Damon is the only man I will ever love."

A knot of emotions tightened in my chest as I stared at the screen.

Once upon a time, I genuinely believed that my devotion would eventually break through Rachel's icy exterior.

I didn't expect her to fall in love with me, but I thought she would at least grow to care about me a little.

But the second Damon stepped back into the picture, I realized just how delusional I had been. All he had to do was stand in front of Rachel, and I was utterly defeated.

A notification chime from my phone snapped me out of my thoughts.

It was a message from Vanessa, Rachel's best friend.

Ever since Rachel and I tied the knot, Vanessa had made no secret of her hatred for me. Every time we crossed paths, she always treated me with hostility and threw petty barbs my way.

I found out later that she, Rachel, and Damon had been best friends for years.

In her eyes, I was the homewrecker who had "stolen" Rachel away and broken Damon's heart, which was why she resented me.

Over the years, if Rachel ever did anything thoughtful for me, Vanessa would act as if Rachel had betrayed Damon.

It was safe to say that she had played a significant part in stirring up the fights between Rachel and me over the years.

But now, I couldn't care less.

She sent a barrage of texts, her tone as nasty as ever.

"Garrett, are you an idiot? Damon is sick, and you actually assaulted him? You realize that's a felony, right?"

"You'd better apologize to Damon tomorrow, or I'll have you thrown in jail."

"If you step up and cover Damon's medical bills, I might consider leaving you alone. Otherwise, you know exactly what I'm capable of."

When I saw those messages, I couldn't help laughing.

In the past, I tolerated Vanessa no matter how passive-aggressive she was, because she was Rachel's best friend.

But now that I was divorcing Rachel, I had absolutely no reason to play nice anymore.

Thus, I replied bluntly, "Mind your own business."

I exited the thread, tapped on my own profile, and selected three specific photos from my camera roll.

The first was a candid shot from our anniversary, showing Rachel and Damon holding hands with their fingers intertwined.

The second was a screenshot of the Instagram post Damon had just uploaded, and the final image was a screenshot of the divorce agreement Audrey had drafted for me.

For the caption, I wrote, "Counting down the days to my divorce."

The second that post went live, it felt as though a massive weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

An indescribable wave of freedom washed over me.